Celtic No1 Joe Hart has fired a title warning at Rangers by saying: "We don't rely on momentum."
Ange Postecoglou's champions hold a nine point lead at the top over the Light Blues after 14 wins from 15 games in the first part of the campaign pre-World Cup shutdown. That period of fixtures includes a winning run of eight games going into the break with the veteran goalkeeper describing the Hoops' effort up to this point as 'incredible'.
Across the city, Giovanni van Bronckhorst has found himself under increased pressure due to poor performances and inconsistent results. They've dropped points in recent weeks to Livingston and St Mirren while also tasted defeat at McDiarmid Park against St Johnstone. The form and result leaves Celtic in a strong position that Hart hails as a 'powerful start' but says the champions live game to game and that is the view they will continue to take.
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He said: “We don’t rely on momentum. We don’t rely on anything other than training hard and trying to express ourselves in the best way possible.
"It’s been an incredible effort. The unique schedule with the World Cup meant there was going to be some inconsistent results.
“But we managed to really battle through it domestically to put ourselves in a strong position. We were six points or so back last year before Christmas so it’s not something we take for granted.
“Like the manager says, we’ll run our own race. It’s such a simple way to view it, but it’s the right way to live. If you start worrying about things you can’t control then you waste energy.
“It’s been a powerful start – but we live game to game. That will continue. The focus and the energy is there. We’ve had to dig deep and we’ve showed a different side of us in a couple of games. Now we can enjoy this trip and hopefully be ready when he get back.”
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